Хрен (часть первая)
One spice that Russians really like is хрен horseradish. Many American families never buy horseradish; I don't think my mother ever had it in our household, so it's worth pointing out that the horseradish root looks like this:
The root is then ground into a paste, and it is used as spice or a condiment on the side:
I've never encountered the word in the plural, only the singular:
| Sg | |
| Nom | хрен |
| Acc | |
| Gen | хрена |
| Pre | хрене |
| Dat | хрену |
| Ins | хреном |
Horseradish is used with a variety of dishes:
| В России часто подают ростбиф с хреном. | In Russia they often serve roast beef with horseradish. |
| Мама приготовила салат из хрена с морковью и яблоками. (recipe) | Mom made an apple, carrot and horseradish salad. |
| Хрен богат калием, кальцием, натрием, серой, фосфором, железом и другими минеральными веществами. (source) | Horseradish is rich in potassium, calcium, sodium, sulfur, phosphorus, iron and other mineral substances. |
Although хрен is a perfectly good word, completely acceptable in polite company, it has another use, too...
Warning! The following paragraphs contain Russian and English vulgarity.
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6 comments
It’s a funny thing, but “Хрен получишь” и “Ни хрена не дам” the same. ;)
I haven’t heard the phrase “в хренУ” ever. Must be local.
Another form is “НЕ хрена ему знать об бизнесе” (не хрена instead нечего). And it would not me, if I don’t say about locative case although it very rare e.g. “поросенок, жареный в хренУ и майонезе".
My favorite is “xrenovi” which as an adjective means “crappy, of poor quality.”
One of interesting forms is “хреновина”. It’s both a vulgar naming of an abstract thing and a dish.
Что это за хреновина? — What the hell is that?
Мы заготовили десять банок хреновины. [I don’t really know how to translate that precisely]
Hrenovina is a mix of tomatoes with horseradish and garlic. It’s quite a spicy thing. It goes well with a bread and soup. And it’s a good seasoning for vareniky.
Here is a photo of this:
http://www.manhunter.ru/upload/a4/5a/a45ad673db526087788d13dfc976c762.jpg
There is also the word “хрень”. It may only be used to refer to something, not to describe the dish.
I had to laugh when I saw the phrase “Иди на хрен!", because of the use of “идти", implying that hell is a close-by place that we don’t need a vehicle to get to.
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